WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL BLOG for La Pétanque Marinière in San Rafael, California. LPM has been an active Marinpétanqueclub since 1972 and affiliated with theFédération of Pétanque USA, since 1975. We welcome people of all abilities, ages and nationalities to come and enjoy pétanque with us.

The Pierre Joske Courts are located on Civic Center drive in San Rafael. (click for directions). Casual games are played every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from about 1 pm. Tournament play is usually held on the second Sunday of every month.

Please consult the links on the sidebar to the right for more information on clubs in the bay area, nationally and world wide.

If you would like to play but haven't any boules, please contact our President, Christine Cragg, or Vice-President Ken Lee. They can bring some for you to use, as well as introduce you to the basic skills and techniques of pétanque. In addition, if you are looking to purchase boules but are unsure as to which size and weight are right for you, we have a range of different examples from which to choose.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

The most recent publication of Los Angeles Pétanque club is now on-line and available for viewing. Check out what our Angelinan friends to the south are up to, and bring your balls should you happen to be near their courts.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The popular French ball-toss game has migrated to Eugene, where students play for fun, mostly

By Shaun O’Dell

The Register-Guard

Appeared in print: Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Laughter, cheers and moans of disappointment followed the clank of metal on metal in a steady rain Tuesday afternoon as players from four high schools, many without raincoats, gathered at Marist High School to carry on the French tradition of ... pétanque.

Rain or shine, the 50 or so students from Churchill, South Eugene, Sheldon and Marist high schools were intent on continuing play until one school could be crowned end-of-season champions.

“These guys are pretty into it. They’re pretty hard core,” said Ryan Baker, vice president and co-founder of the Eugene Pétanque International Club and a French teacher at Marist. “It’s a great place for them to fit in and find community, and that’s a big part of what it’s about.”

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

On May 20th, 2010 the City of Fresno, California received the first of two great honors with respect to the game of pétanque. At the Fresno City Hall Chambers, the Mayor and Supervisors declared May 20th to be Fresno: "America's Pétanque City" Day. The added honor is that Fresno and Engelmann Winery hosted Victor Nataf, international training director who taught 32 players from around the country how to go back into their pétanque communities and teach the sport to newcomers.With a great amount of tireless effort on the part of Tim Channell and others, Fresno is on track to potentially be a world-wide destination for pétanque. Don't blink, as we may see Fresno hosting the world championships in the very near future.

The City of Fresno proclamation ceremony that officially kicked off of the conference on May 20 can be viewed by clicking here. Once the video opens, drag the position bar to 33:52 to view the presentation.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

The F.I.P.J.P. - Fédération Internationale de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal is the world governing body of pétanque located in Marseille, France. Part of their international role is to establish national pétanque federations around the world, just like our very own Federation Pétanque USA . One of their other major roles is to travel the world and teach leaders of national federations how to teach pétanque to their affiliate clubs.During the past three months, Robert Pierre, FPUSA International Liaison, has been in discussions with the International Federation and FPUSA national leadership about bringing their certified pétanque training clinic, “Teach the Trainers” to the United States. The International Federation has agreed to offer one U.S. certified trainer‟s clinic in May 2010, and it will be in Fresno. FPC is proud to host this 4-day event for USA and International pétanque.Pétanque clubs across the United States will send one or two of their members to receive this certified training. After the completion of the clinic each participant will be listed by the International Federation as a certified pétanque trainer. We are anticipating registering up to 35 FPUSA members in this clinic.

May 20, 2009 — A video rendering on future Fresno, California petanque terrain. Home to the largest and fastest growing petanque club in the United States. Find out more at www.FresnoPetanque.com

Mini pétanque clinic to be held between 10 and 11Registration ends at 11:00 a.m. Lunch at 11:30All games start after lunch. (1pm or before)No Cash Prizes. Prizes to be awarded by raffle.Panaché. Bring friends or guests. $13.00 per person.Reservations mandatory by Thursday June 11!!!Please Call Alain Efron, 415.479.5820 or lutecemeister@gmail.com

There proved to be quite an inspiring turnout last Sunday for our tête a tête tournament. 16 gentlemen and 8 ladies formed the competitive ranks. teams from Willits and Sacramento were present as well. Even in spite of some rain and sprinkles that tried to dampen the proceedings , the players were unflappable and play continued. The competition was fierce yet friendly and everyone seemed to enjoy the day.

Click here to watch the slideshow.LPM would like to thank our own Alain Efron and Dan Feaster of the Willits Boules Clubfor contributing to the slideshow